The organizers of the demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people in Berlin accused the police of racism due to the ban on demonstrations, and announced that they would take legal measures against depriving the entire Arab community of its right to freedom of expression, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized the anti-Israel demonstrations, describing them as “anti-Semitic.”
Media outlets reported that 50 people gathered in the Neukölln neighborhood in the German capital, Berlin, in a demonstration that the police said was in support of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, while videos posted by the anti-Israel Samidoun Network on Instagram showed the demonstrators chanting “controversial” slogans on social media platforms in Germany, according to the “Deutsche Welle” website.
The Palestinian Campaign Initiative wrote online that the demonstration of October 10 in Neukölln was banned by police “for racist reasons.”
The campaign said in a statement that “the alleged actions of a minority” were being used “to deprive an entire community of the right to freedom of expression.”
The campaign added that the ban imposed by the police violates fundamental laws. On Tuesday evening, the police announced the ban on the “solidarity demonstration with Palestine” and alternative activities, according to the “Amal, Berlin!” website.
It is estimated that there are about a million Arab immigrants living in Germany, most of them in Berlin, and that more than half of them have German citizenship, and most of these immigrants are from Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq.
It is noteworthy that the attack launched by the Hamas movement, classified as a terrorist group by Germany, the European Union, and the United States on October 7, led to the killing of 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, and the capture of hundreds of others, including German nationals, while the continuous Israeli air strikes resulted in the killing of 2,215 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The German Chancellor confirmed that the federal government is working to free the hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas, and said, “We are working with full force to release all the hostages – in the framework of close coordination with Israel and wih due secrecy.”
He explained that at the time of the attack, there was a large number of Germans present in Israel, because many Germans live in Israel, and they are often citizens who hold the citizenship of both countries.
Western countries condemned Hamas’s recent operation and pledged to provide all forms of support to Israel amid Arab division.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to impose a ban on the activities of Hamas in Germany and the Palestinian Samidoun network, which defends the issue of Palestinian detainees in prisons. He also decided to suspend aid to Palestinians.
It is noteworthy that the Palestinian people have been under Israeli occupation since 1967, and Tel Aviv refuses to implement international resolutions aimed at establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
